***
The day had come. Astrid versus Lilith. Astrid wasn't too worried, if worse came to worse, then she'd take off her ring. But that wouldn't happen. Would it?
A few hours before the duels began, in a place far, far away, a meeting was being held. Sat around a long table, were 12 people. Dressed in black, the man at the end of table spoke first.
"The anomalies are becoming more frequent. He reported that there was another Misfit. He said killed her though."
The man cleared his throat, putting both arms on the table. He meant business.
Hotaru, who also attended the meeting, replied.
"I've witnessed a few anomalies apply for the academy. I have my eye on a certain boy. His sword skills are impressive, but he's an X." Hotaru shared a few documents. "I think the boy might even be able to match him."
The other members at the table viewed the papers. Each sheet was a profile of each candidate. Quite a lot of shocked expressions appeared on their faces. One of them, seemed to be smiling.
"Mirage Cetera...Let's see what she can do."
Another, with a cigar in his mouth, took a puff before raising a piece of paper.
"This one, who is she?"
"Astrid Atsuko. She applied as a duel affinity mage. Tier 2 mana core. She's nothing special."
"Hm." The smoker took another puff, and narrowed his eyes at the paper. "Interesting."
The head of the group spoke again. "The anomaly we're having the most trouble with is Nagi Flaremore. His clan is...a hassle to deal with." He turned to the smoker. "Keep an eye on him."
The meeting concluded, the participants left the room. However, they didn't know that someone was listening in, taking in information. This spy grabbed what they could from the table, and disappeared, like they were never there.
***
A few minutes before she had to fight, Astrid entered the locker room. Lilith, fidgety, was already there.
"Lilith."
The girl flinched, before turning to face Astrid.
"O-oh, Astrid..."
"I hope we have a good duel, yeah?"
"Y-yeah..."
The awkwardness between them got even worse, until the proctor brought them into the arena.
"Are you two ready?" The proctor asked.
Both of them nodded, meaning the match were to begin.
"Alright. 3...2...1…Fight!"
Astrid, raised her arm at Lilith, sending a water blast at her. The water shot forward, travelling at a high speed.
'This'll be over in a minute...'
But she was dead wrong. Lilith waved her hands in front of her frantically, and the attack evaporated.
"Oh? That's new. A heat ability?"
She sent another gush of water at her, which instantly vaporised.
"Then i'll just use earth..."
The ground rumbled, eventually rising to trap Lilith in a dome of mud. This worked to no avail. The once was mud, melted into a puddle of mush.
'The nerve...'
Lilith began to chant some words under her breath. Astrid dashed towards her. The last time someone did the same, she nearly died. She reached out her hand to Lilith, preparing another earth ability.
*TSSSSSS*
The moment her hand connected to the girl, Astrid screamed back in pain. She looked at Lilith with anguish. Her hand was burnt.
"AH! What the hell? Why're you burning hot?"
No reply.
For some reason, Astrid was getting really ticked off. This person was the worst match for her. A decision needed to happen now: take off the ring, or forfeit. But that wasn't good enough. She wanted more.
So instead, she went in to attack her again. Astrid covered her hand in ice, to numb the pain. Lilith had got to the point where steam was coming off her. The surroundings were getting a bit warm too.
Astrid casted a huge ice strike, only to melt in a small radius of Lilith.
'Damn it...How am I supposed to win? I want to win...I have to win...'
Then it clocked. Astrid understood.
"Lilith Flaremore, this match is mine!"
She proceeded to propel more magic - dirt and ice - at the burning woman, waiting for something to happen.
'Cmon...'
In return, Lilith sent out a blow of ice cold waves, which Astrid barely dodged. It skimmed her arm, completely numbing it. The numbness eventually turning into a swelling pain.
'Hypothermia...So her magic type is based around temperature. I can deal with that.'
Despite the cold bursts, the atmosphere began to get even hotter. She was sweating now, and getting tired. Her movements became sluggish. Her eyelids became heavy.
"So that's your plan, huh? Well, it ain't gonna work on me..."
Astrid spoke with pride, but she wasn't holding up for much longer. Neither was Lilith. As her body heated up, her mana pool was draining, fast.
The cold waves had managed to hit her again, this time, it was her waist. Then, her leg.
'Any moment now...'
That moment drew near. Lilith stopped emiting heat. The room had lowered to a average level. It seemed that she finally drained her energy. Astrid, exhausted and hungry, rested on the ground.
"It's finally over."
The medics hurried onto the battlefield to retrieve Lilith, unconscious. But something didn't feel right. Astrid still felt a little warm. Without warning, she threw herself to the sleeping girl, near enough to fire one last dirt dome at her.
She shouted, "Stand back! It's not safe!" and as she said, something burst the dome open. It was cold. Lilith had a self-destruct protocol, like a robot. Luckily, the waves didn't get far: Astrid's dome had weakened them.
'If hadn't have done anything...then we all might be dead.'
The audience gave a large roar. They didn't understand what happened, but they sure did enjoy the fight. Among the crowd, Mirage and Mizuki watched Astrid get up, and stagger towards Lilith. The medics were already there, treating her with healing magic. When she looked at Lilith's face, Astrid shook. There were tears, and her body was twitching.
'Oh my, What have I done?'
She stumbled through the door of the room and made her way down a hallway. She got very emotional during that fight, for no reason. What was going on? Also amidst the crowd, the smoker, watched her leave. He grinned, taking his cigar out of him mouth.
"This is getting even more intriguing." Backing off into the crowd, he concealed his presence.
Mizuki caught up to the woman, who now was on the floor. Lilith did give her quite a hard time.
"Yo...Astrid, you good?"
"Could be better."
He assisted her, using himself as a walking stick.
"Mizu, something's up." She clenched her arm and continued. "Lilith didn't fight me. She wasn't herself during that match. I don't know how, but that family is hiding something."
"I guess Mesh did whatever it is, right? The way he treats Lilith...It's horrible."
The pair went to the infirmary in silence: Astrid wanted to rest.
When she arrived, she popped into one of the beds. Mizuki waved goodbye, while stretching his legs.
"Alright, I'm gonna head to the gym again. Don't get into trouble, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'll talk to you later."
The moment he left, Astrid closed her eyes. That match was long and tiring. That was all in the past now. Now, she could sleep soundfully...
Or not.
***
2 hours later, A sudden thud woke Astrid up.
Before she could complain, she tensed up. Someone was having a conversation behind her.
"How could you lose? You wasted a perfectly good elixir! Idiot. We're going."
"Where?"
"Home, obviously. We have a guest. He's back."
Astrid sat up and turned around. Mesh was right next to her, dragging Lilith, who was put in the bed next to her.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Mesh turned his head to the woman in the bed. He gave her his iconic smile.
"This is family matters. Stay out of it."
He put Lilith on his back, and carried her out the room.
She got out of the bed, only to sway to the wall. The medics had healed her during her sleep, but she was still a bit woozy.
'I need to find out what they're up to. What Mesh is up to.'
Determined, Astrid exited the room, in search for the gym. She was going to get to the bottom of this.